I need some help ASAP! Going to GM my first game in 2-3 days. I've been "testing" the game out but I'm confused about one major thing... every roll I get 1-2 Triumphs or 1-2 despairs.

Now, I have no problem with that except I'm not sure how the hell I'm supposed to SPEND despair every single attack.

There's only 4-5 possible choices shown in the spending list, and I don't want to sound like a broken record doing the exact same thing each round.

Can I just... ignore despairs if I don't want to, and then use them when I feel it would be dramatic? Do I HAVE to use them?

Also, it says that the PC's can choose the NPC's despair if the GM is ok with it - does that mean they can cause the NPC to suffer strain meaning they immediately take a wound? Or NPC's can't take strain, period?

Thanks in advance.

I need ideas, I don't want combat to get boring by using the same results with every single roll.

What dice pools are you using, that you're getting that many triumph/despair? Triumph appears on the yellow proficiency die, and despair is only found on the red challenge die.

Do you mean Advantage (the wings-looking one) and Threat (the hexagons)? If so, they cancel out, so you only have to deal with either advantage or threat, not both.

The reason I ask is because there are very few instances where beginning characters should get that much despair rolled, especially considering that most rolls are done against difficulty dice (the purple d8s), with them being upgraded only for spending a Dark Side Destiny Point, or the Adversary talent. Also, starting characters can't have skills higher than 2, so at most they're rolling 2 proficiency dice, so only two dice are capable of coming up as a triumph—and only a 1 in 12 chance per die!

-EF

The thing about spending the extra results is that it works best when you play to the situation. Having a stock set of responses is fine, but the system really shines when it plays into the situation at hand.

Now, you are going to have rolls where you just can't come up with something. They happen. If this is a common occurrence, though, then the problem is probably in not enough description in the setting and action.

Here is the same scenario two ways for an example:

1. The PCs are in a firefight with Stormtroopers across a narrow street. A PC shoots and rolls 3 threat.

2. The PCs are in a narrow street in Mos Eisley. It's a bad part of town where half the structures are literally falling apart. The street is littered with rubble, some of which matches the multiple holes in the nearby buildings. There are Stormtroopers on the other end of the street firing at the PCs. Bystanders are frantically running around, trying to get away from the fight. A PC shoots and rolls 3 threat.

That second scenario is much easier to come up with ad libbed effects because there is more to work with.

During your "testing" did you have scenarios like #1 or #2? If it was like the first, then that is where the problem is.

I don't think pooling despairs is a good idea, truthfully. Although you can start making lists of what effects they might entail to help you improvise in the moment. I'd encourage players to participate in the rolled results, including despairs. I'd even go so far as to encourage them to have some input on what their own despairs might be. They're bad, but they wouldn't be lethal. For example, a despair while dangling from a rope might have the rope slip and possibly even drop their weapon, but for characters falling to their death is too much even for a despair to indicate, while it wouldn't be for say a Rival or even a Nemesis.

Like EldritchFire said, I meant Advantage and Threat, not Triumph and Dispair. My bad

So, rather then going to the menu that shows how to spend your Threat, you chose to make up something bad happening because you rolled 3 threat, for example, the shots hit a building, rubble exploded and hit a bystander?

The thing about spending the extra results is that it works best when you play to the situation. Having a stock set of responses is fine, but the system really shines when it plays into the situation at hand.

Now, you are going to have rolls where you just can't come up with something. They happen. If this is a common occurrence, though, then the problem is probably in not enough description in the setting and action.

Here is the same scenario two ways for an example:

1. The PCs are in a firefight with Stormtroopers across a narrow street. A PC shoots and rolls 3 threat.

2. The PCs are in a narrow street in Mos Eisley. It's a bad part of town where half the structures are literally falling apart. The street is littered with rubble, some of which matches the multiple holes in the nearby buildings. There are Stormtroopers on the other end of the street firing at the PCs. Bystanders are frantically running around, trying to get away from the fight. A PC shoots and rolls 3 threat.

That second scenario is much easier to come up with ad libbed effects because there is more to work with.

During your "testing" did you have scenarios like #1 or #2? If it was like the first, then that is where the problem is.

You can ignore anything you want, Rex. It's your game, play it how you like. I'll be honest, I don't always apply those symbols either. I tend to look at knowledge rolls, for example, as very binary. Either the characters knows a thing or he doesn't. If I can think of something clever to use the other symbols on, I'll do it, but if I cannot, then I'm not going to bring the game to a halt while I sit there trying to come up with something.

My own personal opinion is that not everything in the game has to be dramatic. In fact, it would strain credibility and start to become farsical if it were, like playing the Imperial march every time a two-bit thug came around the corner. Save the high drama for times when it's appropriate, and maybe have the symbols do just minor things, or nothing at all, until then. The symbols might also just have a narrative effect, with no real mechanical implications. Maybe you roll a threat symbol while trying to flirt with an attractive Twi'lek at the bar and she brushes you off in a way that makes everyone laugh. You feel embarrassed and the players have a good laugh, but nothing else comes of it.

Good improvisation is a skill and not everyone has it. I've never been great at thinking on my feet, I tend to need time to consider things. Therefore, I'll often let my players suggest ideas for how to use the symbols, or we'll just hand-wave them or create a delayed effect. This game works so much better when you treat it as a collective storytelling effort jointly owned by the players and the GM.

But that's just our group. You need to figure out what's acceptable to you and your players. The game is a starting point, a toolbox... it's not intended to be an enforcement of a design and you'll somehow get in trouble if you don't adhere to it rigidly.

If nothing else, you can always just default to strain in conflict-y situations. Trying to disarm a bomb? Strain. In a firefight? Strain. If the task has no interesting failure conditions, then maybe don't roll for it? Strain is an integral mechanic, so feel free to play with it! Stress those players out!

Although, to borrow some philosophy from FATE and GUMESHOE, if failure is not a meaningful or interesting possibility, maybe consider not having a roll in the first place? Especially if you're feeling weighed down by data points, starting slower might be a good idea until you get more confident with the system.

Having said that, it's so context-dependent, that it'd be difficult to plan for every circumstance. The book is actually pretty good about suggesting different uses of advantage and threat for a given skill; check that section out, and see if it helps.

Otherwise, I'll echo Venthrac - you're the GM; you should absolutely do what works at your table.

this is something that i think will improve with time and practice. the +/- strain and dice modification suggestions are good fallbacks but you don't want to use it to the point of boredom. having something narratively exciting to add to the scene that your players are in is probably rewarding, and much like running Fate games, more art than science. overall, as you get used to the system, don't stress or cause table delays trying to come up with something each and every time. eventually you'll have a neat, long list of things to draw from.

Good improvisation is a skill and not everyone has it. I've never been great at thinking on my feet, I tend to need time to consider things.

That would be me as well (though I have my moments). Doc, the Weasel's suggestion of more detailed description is helpful. If you're planning an adventure, making a few notes ahead of time on what Threats and Advantages could be spent on in certain situations is also useful.

Good improvisation is a skill and not everyone has it. I've never been great at thinking on my feet, I tend to need time to consider things.

That would be me as well (though I have my moments). Doc, the Weasel's suggestion of more detailed description is helpful. If you're planning an adventure, making a few notes ahead of time on what Threats and Advantages could be spent on in certain situations is also useful.

Absolutely! If there are some especially important interactions or skill uses in an adventure, spend a little extra time and think about how to use Adv/Thr/Tri/Des on those.

Yeah, I think that this should get easier in time.

I'm a very improv-heavy gamer, so I'm trying to think of useful things beyond "use what's there." But I definitely think that the better you understand your game world, and the situation at hand, the easier this gets.

Thank you for asking because I was also wondering this and then after reading the responses I feel like the best approach is the common sense approach and I now realize I was just overthinking this myself.

Let the players be heavily involved in the advantage and threats for everyone. Take the pressure off yourself.

Thank you for asking because I was also wondering this and then after reading the responses I feel like the best approach is the common sense approach and I now realize I was just overthinking this myself.

Glad we could help you out! The game definitely has a learning curve, but once you've spent some time with it, I bet it'll come very naturally.

Let the players be heavily involved in the advantage and threats for everyone. Take the pressure off yourself.

+1, the way I do it is:

Players are more or less in charge of assigning PC [Advantage / Triumph] and NPC [Threat / Despair]

Then I mostly wear the daddy-pants for NPC [Advantage/ Triumph] and PC [Threat / Despair]

It's also common for the group to weigh in like excited chimpanzees when someone feels compelled to suggest a more creative or narrative application of positive and negative effects. The mechanical adjustment suggestions listed in the book will "get you there" of course, but there are times where a player rolls a Despair and everyone just smiles evilly while said player blanches and goes "no no no no..." *crunch* as the blast panel crushes their hand into the console as the space pirates pour into the corridor.